If your brand is talking to everybody, then it is talking to nobody. 

It is crucial for every business to identify a target audience. There was a time that required endless effort and time, but now thanks to social media the data you need to make such a decision is a click away. Social media is like an online focus group for businesses and audiences. 

Social media users are more likely to  connect with brands on social media with likes, shares and comments. It is not about attracting the attention of the brand, it is more of shared experiences. It is a crucial aspect in identifying a brand’s target audience and eventually forming a relevant buyer’s persona. With the presence of social media listening tools, brands get to tune into those conversations and find valuable insights into the needs and motivations of potential customers. 

There are certain steps to follow to be able to identify the right target audience. 

1. Prioritize listening to your audience

For a brand to be able to create interesting content, you need to be aware of what your audience likes to talk about. It is through listening you are able to identify their needs, frustrations, values, and concerns, helping you understand what makes them engage with you. Relevance of content is only achieved by understanding the persona of the people you are aiming to have a conversation with. 

Feedback from your current known audience is an integral part of research to be able to expand your audience. People might be talking to you, but you are not aware of it. In social media, people are not obligated to officially tag your brand. Consumers are sharing reviews with other everyday consumers, not really the brand.Identifying mentions with social media listening tools helps you understand the changing consumer behavior of your target audience, and thus tailoring to their needs with the right business decisions and content strategies.

2. Build your demographics 

Once you draw out a general idea for who your audience are, it is time to get more detailed and build a demographic profile. It is useful to select age, gender, location, and their interests. Being able to identify their interests will lead to creating compelling content that would speak for your brand. 

It is recommended for brands to experiment with their content. Do not be too afraid to experiment with different marketing strategies. This can help paint a clearer picture of what your audience considers relevant and interesting. Each type of audience will have its own preferred messaging and content. 

3.  Choose the right social media channels 

There are so many platforms out there that give the space for users to express themselves. Now that you have the profile of your audience, it is important to know where to find them. To determine this, you are going to look at the activity of each platform. Brands need to acknowledge that in many ways, the audience are more in control. They are the ones defining what could be labeled as interesting content. 

Brands just follow the road, the audience just set for them. So every business needs to ask themselves: 

• Where do my target audience hang out online? 
• What type of content do they interact with the most? 
• Who are the most followed people on the network? 

Each social media platform involves a different type of conversation.  Download your free edition of the  2020 state of social media report  to find out all what you need about the profile of your target audience that you would like to engage with.

4. Have a conversation with your audience

After gathering all the information you need about your audience, it is time to make a plan to connect with them. Those insightful conclusions, based on social media listening tools, are translated into the content strategy. At certain times,  the direct consumer of your brand might not be the only one being exposed to your brand; it could go beyond that. This presents itself as an opportunity. For example, there were many brand campaigns in the context of football that reached a massive audience. So it is key to always be aware of who is paying attention to tailor your messages. It is always useful to look into what techniques  are being used in other industries to generate a high level of engagement.

We are here to support you with effective monitoring, and social media listening tools, Crowd Analyzer can help you identify your target audience and understand their social media behavior. You will be able to constantly track mentions of your brand analyzing the latest trends to better connect with your audience. 

There is always one step further you can take when it comes to your brand. Finding a target audience is about identifying your goal, with TaskSpotting, a Crowd Analyzer company, you can spot the right people that can speak for your brand. We are here to support you in making the informed decisions about how to market your brand.